Furikake Seasoning

1/2 cup glass jar (1.8 oz net wt)

1 oz bag

SKU:101023 003

Regular Price: $8.20

On Sale For: $7.38

Quantity

4 oz bag

SKU:101023 005

Price: $15.78

Quantity

1 lb bulk bag

SKU:101023 007

Price: $31.87

Quantity

Description

Japanese cuisine is full of fun surprises and furikake seasoning is no different. The word furikake, pronounced “foo-re-kah-keh” translates to “sprinkle over” and this seasoning blend is intended, in Japan, to only be sprinkled over rice. Sometimes you will find it used over vegetables or fish, but that’s only thanks to the western influences on Japanese culture.

There are plenty of different varieties of furikake, but traditionally speaking it is made up of only a few ingredients, each of which has an intensely delicious flavor. Combined, it is nearly impossible to stop eating it, and you may find yourself cooking extra rice to conveniently pack away in the fridge for a midnight snack.

Story

Gohan no Tomo, or “a friend for rice” was developed by a scientist named Suekichi Yoshimaru. This is thought to have been the first iteration of furikake seasoning. It was developed to help combat malnutrition and a calcium deficit in the Japanese population, made with crushed fish bones, toasted sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and seaweed that was ground into a powder. A few years after this product was introduced, another hit the market by the name of “kore wa umai” or “this is good” with similar ingredients and packaging designed to help keep it dry. Kore wa Umai was originally a luxury item, but slowly it became available to the masses.

After World War II, many Japanese companies began mass producing this product and calling it furikake. Nissin was a pervasive force in the distribution of this seasoning blend and used colorful and creative packaging to grab the consumer’s attention. It surged in popularity and is still popular today. In fact, this blend is as popular in Japan as salt and pepper is in the United States.

If you are ever in Japan, you may want to pick up some furikake to take back home with you as a souvenir. The packaging for furikake is often elaborate and decorated with little fish or drawings depending on what is in that particular brand. Sometimes pop culture references make their way to the packaging of the seasoning blend, with cartoon or anime characters dancing across the fronts of single serve packets of the stuff. There are even plastic tubs that look like animals that are just full of this seasoning. Sometimes the blend will pour out of the mouth of the character. This is a seasoning blend that primarily goes over rice in Japan, but it has other applications in the west.

What's in it?

Flavor Profile

This seasoning tastes noticeably like seaweed, and it has a salty crunch, too!

Where to Use

Traditionally furikake is sprinkled over steaming hot sticky rice, and that is the only way it is used. You can also use it on mushrooms, in guacamole, with eggs, or on tofu. If you add some furikake to your French fries, be prepared to eat more than you had initially planned, since they will be incredibly delicious and full of umami flavor.

Another interesting application for furikake is on popcorn. This is reminiscent of those shake bottles full of spices and seasonings to make your popcorn taste like ranch dressing or extra butter. This is interesting to Japanese people, who think that the whole idea of furikake is only to give flavor to plain white rice.

Use it on top of salad for a little added crunch and a new flavor combination. If you already like tuna on your salad, this won’t be much of a shock to your tastebuds. As with all of our seasoning blends, add a little bit and give it a try and then add more as you see fit. You can always season more but you can never remove the seasoning from the food you’ve added it to!

Helpful Hints

Use this blend over anything you want to have a more umami flavor. Many of the furikake blends you may find at an Asian market will contain MSG, but our blend does not, making it more authentic to the original furikake recipe which contained no MSG at all.